Category: News

A new British study has linked alcohol consumption to an increased risk for colon cancer.

The study found that the consumption of a glass of wine or a pint of beer each day increases your risk for colon cancer by 10%, and two drinks a day increases your risk by as much as 25%; and this is pretty scary stuff since the mortality rate for colon cancer is quite high, with 35 000 Britons each year diagnosed, and 16 000 each year dying from the disease.

I’m not sure what the increased colon cancer risk is when drinking 20 or more beers daily, but I imagine my outlook is not particularly promising. I do have faith in the body’s recuperative powers, and I believe that with each passing year of sobriety I minimize the risks of my previously very unhealthy lifestyle.

No one who drinks is under the illusion that they do so for their health, but in addition to the well know health risks like cirrhosis and heart disease, it seems with every passing year clinical researchers unearth more evidence to the damage done by problem drinking. If you drink to excess you should be aware of the damage you are doing to your body, and think about how long and with how much health you’d like to live. Every day you continue to drink increases your probability of contracting a serious and possibly fatal condition, and the sooner you quit the better your prognosis. If you drink, try to stop, and if you can’t, or won’t, try to minimize your consumption.

If you drink, or did drink to excess, you should be aware of the increased risks for certain diseases, and make sure that your doctor is also aware of your history of abuse, as to ensure you get the needed prophylactic testing that might just save you life. I don’t know how much damage I did to my body while drinking, but I do know that my GI tract was a mess; and although I now feel fine, I think I may have to speak with my doctor about colon cancer, and determine if any testing may be required. Just one more reason to be thankful for a life of sobriety.

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A new British study has linked alcohol consumption to an increased risk for colon cancer.

The study found that the consumption of a glass of wine or a pint of beer each day increases your risk for colon cancer by 10%, and two drinks a day increases your risk by as much as 25%; and this is pretty scary stuff since the mortality rate for colon cancer is quite high, with 35 000 Britons each year diagnosed, and 16 000 each year dying from the disease.

I’m not sure what the increased colon cancer risk is when drinking 20 or more beers daily, but I imagine my outlook is not particularly promising. I do have faith in the body’s recuperative powers, and I believe that with each passing year of sobriety I minimize the risks of my previously very unhealthy lifestyle.

No one who drinks is under the illusion that they do so for their health, but in addition to the well know health risks like cirrhosis and heart disease, it seems with every passing year clinical researchers unearth more evidence to the damage done by problem drinking. If you drink to excess you should be aware of the damage you are doing to your body, and think about how long and with how much health you’d like to live. Every day you continue to drink increases your probability of contracting a serious and possibly fatal condition, and the sooner you quit the better your prognosis. If you drink, try to stop, and if you can’t, or won’t, try to minimize your consumption.

If you drink, or did drink to excess, you should be aware of the increased risks for certain diseases, and make sure that your doctor is also aware of your history of abuse, as to ensure you get the needed prophylactic testing that might just save you life. I don’t know how much damage I did to my body while drinking, but I do know that my GI tract was a mess; and although I now feel fine, I think I may have to speak with my doctor about colon cancer, and determine if any testing may be required. Just one more reason to be thankful for a life of sobriety.

A variety of Chinese sage, long used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of insomnia, heart problems and blood disorders, has been found promising in the treatment of alcoholism by Italian scientists.

Alcohol dependent mice treated with the Chinese sage drank less, and those mice that had been taken off alcohol drank far less than normal when again given access to alcohol after a period of enforced sobriety. The results have excited the Italian researchers, and they are investigating the herb’s safety before moving on to possible human trials.

I’m not much of an alternative therapy kind of guy, and I’ve never had much belief in acupuncture cures and using hypnotism to cure addiction and all that kind of homeopathic stuff; but if clinical testing indicates that a common herb seems to ease the cravings for alcohol, then I can’t help but get excited about its potential. Because something is natural of course doesn’t mean that it’s healthy, (after all, morphine is natural…but I certainly never felt healthy when abusing it!) but a common herb, and an herb that’s been used in Chinese medicine for millennia, has a good track record of legitimate safety and is something I would not hesitate to take.

Imagine a natural herbal tea, drank daily, that reduced the urge to drink. That would be very good thing and I for one will be awaiting the next stage of testing eagerly.

A variety of Chinese sage, long used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of insomnia, heart problems and blood disorders, has been found promising in the treatment of alcoholism by Italian scientists.

Alcohol dependent mice treated with the Chinese sage drank less, and those mice that had been taken off alcohol drank far less than normal when again given access to alcohol after a period of enforced sobriety. The results have excited the Italian researchers, and they are investigating the herb’s safety before moving on to possible human trials.

I’m not much of an alternative therapy kind of guy, and I’ve never had much belief in acupuncture cures and using hypnotism to cure addiction and all that kind of homeopathic stuff; but if clinical testing indicates that a common herb seems to ease the cravings for alcohol, then I can’t help but get excited about its potential. Because something is natural of course doesn’t mean that it’s healthy, (after all, morphine is natural…but I certainly never felt healthy when abusing it!) but a common herb, and an herb that’s been used in Chinese medicine for millennia, has a good track record of legitimate safety and is something I would not hesitate to take.

Imagine a natural herbal tea, drank daily, that reduced the urge to drink. That would be very good thing and I for one will be awaiting the next stage of testing eagerly.

Oxycontin, which can be crushed and snorted, and is about as addictive as heroin, has caused hundreds of deaths and a lot of heartache, and I’m glad that someone is at long last being held accountable.

I for one was very heartened by yesterday’s successful prosecution of Purdue, the company that markets oxycontin, as well as three senior executives with the company. In addition to paying over 600 million dollars in fines, each executive has been ordered to complete 400 hours of community service, and as well sentenced to three years of probation.

Billions Made on Lies

The judge found that the company, and the three defendants, were guilty for intentionally misleading doctors and pharmacists as to the addictive potential of oxycontin, and for having made billions of dollars off of this deception. It didn’t take long for people to realize that this reportedly less addictive medication, sold as a 12 hour timed release capsule, could be broken and snorted and created a euphoric high similar to heroin.

A lot of kids especially soon found that the easiest high came out of the family medicine cabinet, and because the drug is as addictive as heroin, a lot of lives have been destroyed as a result. The company had announced that that in response to the abuse potential of the medication, that they were planning on releasing a new version of the timed release medication, but that never appeared, after years of promises.

As a recovering opiate addict, I know just how addictive and destructive a pharmaceutical addiction can become, and the makers of these drugs need to at the very least be forthright and honest about the associated risks to the medications they sell. I’m not saying that these are "bad" drugs, although I do think that they are over prescribed, but if doctors are led to believe that they are being given a safer alternative, and their prescriptions lead to the addiction, tragedy and deaths of many, then who is ultimately responsible?

It’s saddening to think that the greed of a few has caused the heartache for so many, and although I’m glad the execs got punished, I wish they had at least received jail time for their deception. I hope that the sentencing resonates through the pharmaceutical industry and that these companies stand up and take notice of what occurred today. It is wrong to mislead the public to sell more drugs, and it is wrong to under inform doctors about the abuse potential of a medication.

I wonder how many lives could have been spared if only they had been honest from the start, and I wonder how these men can sleep at night knowing the destruction they caused for so many.

Oxycontin, which can be crushed and snorted, and is about as addictive as heroin, has caused hundreds of deaths and a lot of heartache, and I’m glad that someone is at long last being held accountable.

I for one was very heartened by yesterday’s successful prosecution of Purdue, the company that markets oxycontin, as well as three senior executives with the company. In addition to paying over 600 million dollars in fines, each executive has been ordered to complete 400 hours of community service, and as well sentenced to three years of probation.

Billions Made on Lies

The judge found that the company, and the three defendants, were guilty for intentionally misleading doctors and pharmacists as to the addictive potential of oxycontin, and for having made billions of dollars off of this deception. It didn’t take long for people to realize that this reportedly less addictive medication, sold as a 12 hour timed release capsule, could be broken and snorted and created a euphoric high similar to heroin.

A lot of kids especially soon found that the easiest high came out of the family medicine cabinet, and because the drug is as addictive as heroin, a lot of lives have been destroyed as a result. The company had announced that that in response to the abuse potential of the medication, that they were planning on releasing a new version of the timed release medication, but that never appeared, after years of promises.

As a recovering opiate addict, I know just how addictive and destructive a pharmaceutical addiction can become, and the makers of these drugs need to at the very least be forthright and honest about the associated risks to the medications they sell. I’m not saying that these are "bad" drugs, although I do think that they are over prescribed, but if doctors are led to believe that they are being given a safer alternative, and their prescriptions lead to the addiction, tragedy and deaths of many, then who is ultimately responsible?

It’s saddening to think that the greed of a few has caused the heartache for so many, and although I’m glad the execs got punished, I wish they had at least received jail time for their deception. I hope that the sentencing resonates through the pharmaceutical industry and that these companies stand up and take notice of what occurred today. It is wrong to mislead the public to sell more drugs, and it is wrong to under inform doctors about the abuse potential of a medication.

I wonder how many lives could have been spared if only they had been honest from the start, and I wonder how these men can sleep at night knowing the destruction they caused for so many.

Scientists have long been aware of dopaminergic changes in the brains of drug addicted patients, but no one really knew whether those brain differences pre dated and increased the likelihood of addiction, or were caused as a result of drug use through addiction. Researchers at the University of Cambridge now have the answer, and their findings are exciting addictions researchers considering the treatment implications of this new data.

Using animal subjects and PET brain scanning, researchers where able to identify statistically significant differences in the brains of animals that were later to prove more susceptible to cocaine addiction. The animals more susceptible to cocaine addiction had fewer dopamine receptors in a certain region of the brain, and this finding is consistent with "after" studies of drug addicted humans who also show this reduction in dopamine receptors.

While research is in the very early stages, scientists say that this discovery could prove ground breaking for the treatment of addiction, and that future recovery techniques may be far more effective and less intrusive than current techniques. Researchers also speculate that these brain changes will be seen not only with drug addiction, but with all sorts of compulsive and unhealthy behaviors, such as gambling and sex addiction as well.

When researchers have a better understanding of the gene expressions that indicate this brain sub set, prophylactic treatments may even be possible, minimizing the possibility of abuse in susceptible individuals before it occurs. Good news on the horizon for the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction.

Scientists have long been aware of dopaminergic changes in the brains of drug addicted patients, but no one really knew whether those brain differences pre dated and increased the likelihood of addiction, or were caused as a result of drug use through addiction. Researchers at the University of Cambridge now have the answer, and their findings are exciting addictions researchers considering the treatment implications of this new data.

Using animal subjects and PET brain scanning, researchers where able to identify statistically significant differences in the brains of animals that were later to prove more susceptible to cocaine addiction. The animals more susceptible to cocaine addiction had fewer dopamine receptors in a certain region of the brain, and this finding is consistent with "after" studies of drug addicted humans who also show this reduction in dopamine receptors.

While research is in the very early stages, scientists say that this discovery could prove ground breaking for the treatment of addiction, and that future recovery techniques may be far more effective and less intrusive than current techniques. Researchers also speculate that these brain changes will be seen not only with drug addiction, but with all sorts of compulsive and unhealthy behaviors, such as gambling and sex addiction as well.

When researchers have a better understanding of the gene expressions that indicate this brain sub set, prophylactic treatments may even be possible, minimizing the possibility of abuse in susceptible individuals before it occurs. Good news on the horizon for the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction.